I’ve been at the dojo every day for a week to cover for my fellow sensei who is off on vacation, so I haven’t had much time to watch anime. Remember that one time I said not having summer classes would mean faster posts? WHAT WAS I THINKING? I need to stop trying to do too many things at once. Anyways, here I am, posting some S;G before I have to be at the dojo. Let’s see how Okarin manages choosing between THE ZOMBIE and TUTURU this week~

Listlessly, Okarin tells them to stop trying to crack SERN’s database and goes to the roof to think of a way to save both Mayuri and Kurisu. He doesn’t even tell Kurisu what’s going on this time when she calls him. Naturally, everyone is worried. Mayuri even visits him on the rooftop and gives him her hat before leaving for Comima. He predicts that she will die tonight around 8, so he’s completely on edge when he’s around her.

Okarin continues to lurk around the con during the day, and to even pick up Mayuri at night to walk her home. He continues to ignore her until she does something cute, like earnestly thanking Okarin for coming with him. He reverts back to Mad Scientist mode so she she’ll feel a bit better about him ignoring her existence for an entire day, and even offers to cosplay next year (as long as he gets to see Kurisu’s hot ass in some sort of skanky cosplay in return). Just as things return to normal between the two, Mayuri’s watch stops, and a car comes hurtling down the streets to claim Mayuri’s life once again.

Quiet, Mayuri, I’m trying to think of the nicest way to let you die

Tired of being a slave to fate, Okarin takes one last kick at the can to try and save her. He ushers her into an alley and jumps in front of the car himself. He figures his death should be enough to change fate enough to save Mayuri, but doesn’t bank on Mayuri pushing him out of the way. Mayuri ends up taking the fatal blow and dying in his arms, reveling in how she was finally “useful” to him.

After hauling her dead body ALL THE WAY HOME, Okarin time leaps to do this whole crazy dance all over again. This time, he cries a little as he tells them to stop the cracking. Kurisu reaaaallly starts to worry; enough to break out of her tsundere barrier and comfort him on the roof. Okarin is finally convinced that he should tell her, so he breaks the bad news to her…erasing his original D-mail will bring them back to the beta world line in which Kurisu is murdered.

A sunburn isn’t going to make things any better, Mad Scientisto

They’re interrupted by a phonecall before Kurisu can say anything. It’s Mayuri, and she’s really worried about Okarin, and she assumes it’s because she’s too much of a burden to him. Considering she just pushed him out the way of a car for what feels like only hours before, that makes him feel kind of like a jerk. Kurisu tells him to go see her, as she is getting vibes that he wants to make things right between them. She deals with the harsh news herself as Okarin goes to find Mayuri. There is no one to console poor KURISTINA.

Mayuri isn’t at Comima, but at her grandmother’s shrine. Okarin stumbles upon her in the middle of a monologue to the grave (do people really do that?). She tells her about how she always dreams about dying in various ways, but Okarin always comes to save her in the end. She changes the topic to arrival of new lab members, and how lively things are. that leads to her recalling how she first starting coming to the lab consistently. She just walked in on a whim one day and Okarin came home to her cleaning and said “good work.” From then on, it was just the natural thing to do. This makes her sad that Okarin doesn’t talk to her much any more, to which Okarin steps in and promises to tell her what has been going on when the time is right.

Bonus Screenshots:

Dr. Pepper or GTFO

By far, it was the weirdest secret handshake they had ever thought up

Not just porn…but…3D PORN.

Oh, sweet, I came home to find some girl in my house! Best day ever!

End Thoughts: This week’s episode was depressing in an entirely different way from last week’s. Episode 20 was full of dramatic reveals, and shocking deaths to try and knock the wind out of you. This week was more subtle and unassuming, yet very moving. Not much progress, if any, was made in deciding how to save either Mayuri or Kurisu this episode. The plot slowed down in order to remind us how big of a decision this is for Okarin. After distancing himself from Mayuri so much, seeing him actually interact with her more as a person than as an object he had to save was really bittersweet. As much as I loved seeing their friendship re-established, I can’t help but think that all the efforts are going to be dashed moments later when she dies yet again. That already happened when they were going back from the con and Okarin got attached again, only to lose her once again. Okarin is willing to die so that Mayuri can live. Either he’s terribly desperate, very considerate of Mayuri, or both. Despite inadvertently doing a lot of bad things with D-mails and his time machine, you have to admire Okarin for being so dedicated to setting things right.

That speech Mayuri gave in front of her grandmother’s grave was especially moving. The writing for Steins;Gate really shines at times like these. We haven’t heard much from Mayuri in ages, so everything felt even more poignant than usual. Much like Okarin’s mad scientist mask, Mayuri seems to be the type who tries to always act cheerful no matter how she really feels. It’s like she thinks it’s the only thing she’s good for. Plus, is that a hint of Reading Steiner I detect? She thinks it’s a dream though, and it’s not. Maybe she’ll start to realize it’s not a dream one day…

Another great moment was the conversation between Kurisu and Okarin on the roof. I’m surprised he was so reluctant to tell her after confiding in her thus far, unless he’s trying to detach from her so he isn’t as troubled by her death. Not that he could ever achieve that after all the time they spent together. Anyways, it was one of the first times Okarin insisted that he was just Okabe Rintarou and not a mad scientist. It’s usually the other way around. When you strip away his persona that he uses to face the world, he’s just a regular, scared guy. The persona is no longer strong enough to deal with the guilt of all the things he’s done….taking away Feyris’s dad, undoing Ruka’s gender change..things like that. Kurisu seems to understand this quite well, as she tends to put on an act of her own to deal with things. Once she heard she would die, she just froze. I can’t imagine what must be racing through her head right now, to have all her efforts lead to her own death. At the end of the episode, she seemed to be at the scene of her death…for what reason? Does she have some sort of idea? I’m also concerned about how she dies, because in the episode she dies we don’t hear her scream, we hear Okarin scream. There’s some sort of twist there, and I guess Okarin might go through with undoing his last D-mail to see what happens and try to resolve it. Who would you try and save, dear readers? Mayuri or Kurisu? The decision is yours until we see what Okarin chooses. Until then…El Psy Congroo.

Yeah I have sort of quit caring if Mayuri dies I know! Such a cold heart but really….WE FREAKING KNOW T___T and its still so damn sad! Anyway I am wondering if there is a way to save Kurisu!? Maybe Okarin can make it to where they never met? Might work! Or something about her staying in America?

I know she’s died countless times, but I was suckered into caring for her again once she started bonding with Okarin again >_< I wonder if he’s going to start screwing with the beta worldline to save Kurisu. Making it so they never meet will fix it, but then Okarin won’t ever get to be with Kurisu D: *sniff*

Such a hard decision to make, C cup or B cup…and I meant in cooking, obviously…cough. Slower pace ep this time but no less important, especially with the whole dead Kurisu coming back to bite Okarin’s ass, so called that one. I have to say though, when I saw that last bit with Kurisu standing where Okarin said she had been lying in a pool of blood, i was like, damn you Steins;Gate for not giving out previews! The suspense is just too much at times! Hm, massive landmine but Kurisu or Mayuri? Who would you save? The 2channeler, or the I’ll-just-show-up-and-become-your-zashiki warashi/housewife-for-life?

I love the couple of times when Steins uses that pencil-sketch animation. It just looks so good for some reason.

I’d save Kurisu, Okarin! Her dere side is too tough to beat, plus it’s probably better for humanity and science to save a mind like Kurisu’s. Also OC, have you seen this figure? It’s marked down to $99, still a little much for me, but it looks so awesome.

What if Okarin being the one screaming has something to do with passing 1% on the divergence meter, or something involving Kurisu’s reveal as being a part of SERN? What of she kills herself to save the future (or SERN does) and Okarin runs away in shock?